As required
in Section 1111 (b) (7) of the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB),
school divisions must annually assess the English language proficiency of
limited English proficient (LEP) students in kindergarten through grade
12.As communicated in
Informational Superintendent's Memorandum, Number 218, dated October 5, 2007,
the Virginia Board of Education selected the ACCESS for ELLs (Accessing
Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for English Language
Learners) as the state-approved English language proficiency (ELP)
assessment for the 2008-2009 school year. Payment for this assessment is the
responsibility of school divisions.

School
divisions must choose one of two test window options listed below for the divisionwide administration of ACCESS for ELLs.

Option
1: February 9-April 3, 2009

Approximate date
for the delivery of score reports to school divisions selecting Option 1 will
be June 12, 2009.

Option
2: March 16 May 8, 2009

Approximate
date for the delivery of score reports to school divisions selecting Option 2
will be July 17, 2009.

Under
separate cover, the division director of testing will be requested to provide
the test window option selected by the division.

If you have
questions or need additional information, please contact the office of Test
Administration, Scoring, and Reporting by e-mail at Student_Assessment@doe.virginia.gov
or by telephone at (804) 225-2107.